Our planet

Our approach

As we carry Australians to their destinations, we’re conscious of working to minimise the impact we have on the environment. We're leading the way on sustainable aviation through emissions and waste reduction initiatives.

Committing $50 million to the development of a sustainable aviation fuels industry in Australia.

Reducing 75 per cent of our waste to landfill by end-2021 and removing 100 million single-use plastics from our operations every year by end-2020.

More than 80 per cent of Qantas Frequent Flyers say that they expect businesses to play a key role in combating environmental issues.

The Qantas Group operates integrated management systems which satisfy safety, health, security and environment legislative and regulatory requirements. Our environment activity is supported by robust governance processes to ensure performance and risks are monitored, which includes oversight by the Qantas Board Committee for Health, Environment, Safety and Security.

Sustainability insights

Reducing emissions

Waste energy and water

Carbon offsetting

Protecting against pollution

Our targets

Qantas recognises human-induced climate change as a significant issue for the aviation industry.

Aviation produces around 2 per cent of all global CO2 emissions. The industry has been on the front line of the global business response to climate change, becoming the first industry to voluntarily commit to emissions targets out as far as 2050. We're we are going above and beyond the standard the industry has set.

Focus, measurement and transparency are integral to our continued environmental improvement, in the air and on the ground.

Our targets: in the air

In the air IATA targets

Target

Strategy to deliver

Performance to target (FY19)

1.5% average annual fuel efficiency improvement from 2009 to 2020.

Fuel efficiency through fleet modernisation and operational improvements. Step change to come in FY21 through introduction of B787-9s retirement of B747s.

Global industry leadership

We’re leading the way on sustainable aviation through our commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, while capping our net C02 emissions at 2020 levels and implementing the world’s most ambitious airline waste reduction targets. We anticipate that this target will encourage further collaboration between the industry and researchers, technology firms, investors, government and other stakeholders.

In 2019, we committed $50 million to the development of a sustainable aviation fuels industry in Australia. We continue to work with Australian federal and state governments to design policies that support commercialisation of aviation biofuels in Australia, which is currently sub-scale.

In 2016, an historic agreement was reached to meet the industry’s commitment to carbon neutral growth from 2020. The Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), commencing in 2021, will require airlines to purchase offsets to meet their share of the industry’s growth emissions. Qantas strongly advocated in support of the Australian Government opting into the first phase of the scheme to avoid the alternative patchwork approach to carbon pricing.

The Qantas Group commenced reporting its international emissions for CORSIA compliance from 1 January 2019, complementing the reporting of domestic emissions it has been conducting under the Australian Government’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme since 2009.